Deciding What To Read

This orginally appeared on The Reslient Leader’s Podcast.

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Leader: who do you decide what to read?  

I truly believe leaders are readers.

In fact, I’ve never met a strong leader who wasn’t also committed to reading as a significant vehicle and habit in their growth and development.

A few weeks ago, I was on a plane flying to Denver to speak at a retreat. The woman sitting next to me was reading a book that I not only recognized, but one that I had been thinking seriously about picking up and reading.

Pointing to her book I said, “I’m seriously considering reading that book, too. Are you liking it?” I asked.

She said it was just alright.

And then I asked, “Why did you pick up that book specifically? And how did you decide to pick up that book? There are millions of books in the world. Why devote your precious and limited time and energy to this one in particular?”

She said she had not really considered the question before, but felt it would be important for her to think about in every book she reads. “I guess it just looked interesting,” she said. “And I listened to a few podcasts that had mentioned it.”

Then she asked me, “So, how about you? How do you decide what books you should read?”

And what I shared with her is what I want to share with you now:  

You have to have a filter or your reading will be aimless, chaotic, and spasmotic.

Before I developed a reading filter, a set of guiding principles for my reading – I would find myself getting overwhelmed when I walked through Barnes and Noble or when I was given an Amazon gift card. I would think, all these books and so little time!

But once I developed a grid, a framework, a mental model, a decision tree – whatever you want to call it – regarding the books I read, I no longer got overwhelmed. I felt deeper purpose and confidence in my reading choices and no longer second-guessed myself. It doesn’t mean that every book I pick up is great. But most are. My batting average is pretty high.

Here are the guiding principles of my reading.  

1.      Read to the gaps – where you want to grow. Take a few minutes to write down where you want to grow in the next 6-12 months.

·      Do you want to learn how to fix a leaky sink?

·      Or how to speak Japanese?

·      Or how to draw on your courage to navigate difficult and emotional conversations

·      Or how to cultivate a healthy culture in your

·      Or learn about the life and leadership lessons of Lincoln?

Read to your areas of growth. You’ll find books that much more valuable. 

2.     Don’t succumb to slick advertising or feel pressure that you have to read something just because seemingly every other person is reading it. You don’t have to keep up with the literary Joneses. The NY Times bestseller is interesting to look at, but it doesn’t mean you have a homework assignment now. Beautiful covers are nice. Clever titles are fun. Fancy ads in TIME Magazine or pop-ups on websites are intriguing, but it doesn’t mean its where you should devote your time and energy.

3.     Read books that unpack ideas or topics that you are intensely curious about. First ask, what am I curious about right now? What interests or fascinates me? Then, when you come across a book addressing that curiosity, read it. Identify your itches; then find books that will scratch those itches.

4.     Find the balance of old books and new books. CS Lewis offered the advice to not read a new book until you had read an old one. Right now, I am reading a book that was published a few months ago, and a book that was written over a hundred years ago by a French Benedictine monk. Both are fascinating. Read authors who are alive and also those who are dead. Don’t just read books written in the last decade.

5.     Read specific authors. Some authors are so good, who I learn from so much, that whatever book they publish I will read – no matter what. Malcolm Gladwell, NT Wright, Andy Crouch, Malcolm Guite, David Brooks, Anne Lamott, Scot McKnight are just a few for me. But we all have our own authors we find are consistent in the quality of their writing.

6.    Read about the lives of people you admire. Biographies are great to learn from, especially if you are a leader. Books on great leaders and thinkers and people in your line of work. Those who lived inspiring lives. What made them tick? What habits did they develop? Who influenced them the most in their formative years? How do they see the world today? And what implications – if any – can their lives have on my life today?  

7.     Rely on the opinions and recommendations of a few specific thinkers and leaders whom you trust. There is a list of 4 or 5 leaders that whenever I am around them I ask, “What are you reading these days?” Even if I’ve never heard of the books they are reading, I write them down and often purchasing them. And they are almost 100% correct. So, make a list of leaders who read well, who think well, and who lead well. Then ask them regularly, “What are you reading right now?” BUT maybe the most important one is, “Why did you pick that up and read it? How did you go about deciding on it?” THAT is the question I am most interested in.

 8.    Read books about true things. I read almost entirely non-fiction (maybe once a year) – and I get a lot of pushback from other people about this. And you are free to disagree. But there is too much truth in the world I need to learn from first that I sense I don’t have enough time to read about things that are untrue. I know… I know… I’ll be getting hate mail for this. But, hey, too each their own…  I just don’t read very much for entertainment. I read to learn and grow and be stretched.

Most times I read for either information or formation.

Now, I know this isn’t the only filter or decision tree readers can use to decide what books to read. And that’s fine. This is just my list I’ve developed over the years. Maybe it’s helpful for you.

Regardless if you agree or disagree with my decision tree, I desire for all leaders to be purposeful, deliberate, and thoughtful with what they read.  

So, I am curious, listeners: what is your filter for what you read? By what framework or grid are you making decisions about what you will read? I’d love to hear! Maybe I’ll learn some new principles and add to my decision tree.

Remember, that you read it important.

Learning what leaders are reading is fascinating. 

But understanding why you read and how you decide what you read (and thus, making an intentional decision of what not to read) is deeply important.